The income gap between West Virginia's richest and poorest residents has widened dramatically over the past few decades, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. West Virginia had the seventh largest increase in income inequality in the nation between the late 1970s and the mid-2000s,…
WVCBP in the News
West Virginia Public News Service – A new study based on census figures shows the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow quickly. Analysts say it's becoming a serious issue for the economy as a whole. Stuart Frazier, an analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, says the figures show…
Charleston Gazette - Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is expected to scrap West Virginia's plans to establish a state-run health insurance exchange, a key component of President Obama's federal health-care law, according to public health advocates and state lawmakers. Tomblin has until Friday to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services whether West Virginia…
The State Journal - A proverb that goes "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" is proving true in West Virginia, according to one study. The study released this morning by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that West Virginia's poorest residents are seeing a decline…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - A policy research organization raises some valid points regarding West Virginia's cuts to child-care assistance for lower-income families. The bottom line, according to a new report by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, is that the reductions will jeopardize those residents' ability to keep their jobs or continue their schooling.…
Charleston Gazette - A new report on childcare assistance said West Virginia officials may have made the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program "cost prohibitive" when they raised parents' co-payments for the program in August. Read In West Virginia, TANF provided needed financial assistance to more than 24,000 young children in 2011 whose parents had…
Four of the five major Sunday morning political shows ignored the issue of job creation and economic growth, which economists and voters say are the most important economic issues facing the nation. Instead, the economic discussion on the November 11 editions of these shows focused almost exclusively on the debate over how to achieve deficit…
The State Journal - Thousands of West Virginia families rely on public child care assistance so they can maintain full- or part-time jobs. But recent changes in copayments and eligibility could leave some low-income families without that support, according to a new report issued by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read
The State Journal - Federal funds benefit many West Virginians. A recent report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy found that more than 20 percent of state residents depend on federal benefits for personal income. Read
Charleston Gazette - Federal researchers estimate that Central Appalachian tonnage will fall more than half in the coming decade. Sean O'Leary, of the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, told (Ken) Ward: "The reality is that even without greenhouse gas or mercury regulations, coal production in Central Appalachia is going to dramatically decline. Repealing…